The Minor Rock Edicts of

Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...

(r.269-233 BCE) are rock inscriptions which form the earliest part of the

Edicts of Ashoka The Edicts of Ashoka are a collection of more than thirty inscriptions on the Pillars of Ashoka, as well as boulders and cave walls, attributed to Emperor Ashoka of the Maurya Empire who reigned from 268 BCE to 232 BCE. Ashoka used the exp ...

, and predate

Ashoka's Major Rock Edicts The Major Rock Edicts of Indian Emperor Ashoka refer to 14 separate major Edicts of Ashoka which are significantly detailed and represent some of the earliest dated rock inscriptions of any Indian monarch. These edicts are preceded chronologica ...

. These are the first edicts in the Indian language of Emperor Ashoka, written in the

Brahmi Brahmi (; ; ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as 'lath' o ...

script in the 11th year of his reign. They follow chronologically the Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription, in Greek and in Aramaic, written in the 10th year of his reign (260 BCE),India: An Archaeological History: Palaeolithic Beginnings to Early ... by Dilip K. Chakrabart

/ref> which is the first known inscription of Ashoka. There are several slight variations in the content of these edicts, depending on location, but a common designation is usually used, with Minor Rock Edict N°1 (MRE1) and a Minor Rock Edict N°2 (MRE2), which does not appear alone but always in combination with Edict N°1), the different versions being generally aggregated in most translations. There is also a minor edict No.3, discovered in

Bairat Viratnagar previously known as Bairat (IAST: ) or Bairath (IAST: ) is a town in northern Jaipur district of Rajasthan, India. History Ancient era According to Huen Tsang, visitor to China, Tonk was under Bairath State or Viratnagar pre ...

, for the Buddhist clergy. The inscriptions of Ashoka in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated i ...

are sometimes also categorized as "Minor Rock Edicts". The Minor Pillar Edicts of Ashoka refer to five separate Edicts inscribed on columns, the Pillars of Ashoka. These edicts are preceded chronologically by the Minor Rock Edicts and may have been made in parallel with the Major Rock Edicts.

Chronology

The Minor Rock Edicts were written quite early in the reign of Ashoka, from the 11th year of his reign at the earliest (according to his own inscription, "two and a half years after becoming a secular Buddhist", i.e. two and a half years at least after the Kalinga conquest of the eighth year of his reign, which is the starting point for his gradual conversion to Buddhism). The technical quality of the engraving of the inscriptions is generally very poor, and generally very inferior to the pillar edicts dated to the years 26 and 27 of Ashoka's reign. John Irwin
"The True Chronology of Aśokan Pillars"
in:''

Artibus Asiae ''Artibus Asiae'' is a biannual academic journal specialising in the arts and archaeology of Asia. Along with the '' Ostasiatische Zeitschrift'' (founded in 1912) it was one of the most successful journals in its field in the German-speaking part o ...

'', Vol. 44, No. 4 (1983), The Minor Rock Edicts therefore follow the very first inscription of Ashoka, written in year 10 of his reign, the Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription established at

Chilzina Chil Zena ("Forty steps"), also Chilzina or Chehel Zina, is a mountainous outcrop at the western limit of the city of Kandahar. Forty stone steps lead to the top of the outcrop, hence its name. It gives a commanding view on the city of Kandahar. ...

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the c ...

, in the center of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

.Valeri P. Yailenk
''Les maximes delphiques d'Aï Khanoum et la formation de la doctrine du dharma d'Asoka''
Dialogues d'histoire ancienne vol.16 n°1, 1990, pp.239-256 This first inscription was written in Classical Greek and

exclusively. The Minor Rock Edicts maybe slightly earlier than the Major Rock Edicts established to propagate the

Dharma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...

, from the 12th year of Ashoka's reign.Ashoka: The Search for India's Lost Emperor by Charles Alle

/ref> These Ashoka inscriptions are in Indian languages with the exception of the

Kandahar Greek Edict of Ashoka The Kandahar Greek Edicts of Ashoka are among the Major Rock Edicts of the Indian Emperor Ashoka (reigned 269-233 BCE), which were written in the Greek language and Prakrit language. They were found in the ancient area of Old Kandahar (known as ...

inscribed on a limestone stele. It was only later, during the 26th and 27th years of his reign, that Ashoka wrote new edicts, this time on majestic columns, the pillars of Ashoka.

Text of the Minor Rock Edicts

The different variations of edicts on rock 1 and 2 are usually presented in the form of a compilation. There is also a minor edict on Rock No.3, discovered in

only, addressing not the Ashoka officers as the first two edicts, but the Buddhist clergy, with the recommendation to study a very specific list of Buddhist scriptures. In the Minor Rock Edicts, Ashoka makes explicit mention of his religious affiliation by presenting himself as a "lay disciple" or "disciple of the Buddha" according to the versions, and speaking of his proximity to "the order" ( samgha), which is far from the case in most other edicts where he is only promulgating the moral laws of "

". ;Association of Ashoka with the title "Devanampriya" ("Beloved-of-the-Gods") Rock_edict-_closer_look

There are slight variations between each of the versions of the Minor Rock Edicts. The Maski version of Minor Rock Edict No.1 was historically especially important in that it confirmed the association of the honorific title ''"

Devanampriya Devanampriya, also Devanampiya ( Devanagiri देवनामप्रिय ) (Brahmi script: 𑀤𑁂𑀯𑀸𑀦𑀁𑀧𑀺𑀬, ''Devānaṃpiya''), was a Pali honorific epithet used by a few Indian monarchs, but most particularly ...

"'' with

: In the Gujarra Minor Rock Edict also, the name of Ashoka is used together with his titles: "Devanampiya Piyadasi Asokaraja". ;Pre-existence of pillars In the Minor Rock Edicts, Ashoka also mentions the duty to inscribe his edicts on the rocks and on the pillars ("wherever there is a pillar or rock"). This has led some authors, especially John Irwin, to think that there were already pillars in India before Ashoka erected them. For John Irwin, examples today of these pillars prior to Ashoka would be the bull pillar of Rampurva, the elephant pillar of

Sankissa Sankissa (also Sankasia, Sankassa and Sankasya) was an ancient city in India. The city came into prominence at the time of Gautama Buddha. According to a Buddhist source, it was thirty leagues from Savatthi.''Dhammapadatthakathā'', iii, 224 A ...

, and the Allahabad pillar of Ashoka. None of these pillars received the inscription of the Minor Rock Edicts, and only the pillar of Allahabad has inscriptions of Ashoka, which weakens this theory, since, according to the orders of the same of Ashoka, they should have been engraved with his Minor Rock Edicts. ;Language of the edicts Several edicts of Ashoka are known in Greek and Aramaic; by contrast the many minor edicts on rock engraved in southern India in

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...

use the

Prakrit The Prakrits (; sa, prākṛta; psu, 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; pka, ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usu ...

of the North as the language of communication, with the

script, and not the local Dravidian idiom, which can be interpreted as a kind of intrusion and authoritarianism in respect to the southern territories.A Sourcebook of Indian Civilization published by Niharranjan Ray, Brajadulal Chattopadhyay
p.592
/ref>

Full texts of the Minor Rock Edicts

;Minor Rock Edict No.1 In this Edict, Ashoka describes himself as a Buddhist layman ( Upāsaka) /a

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

- ŚakaMaski inscription /a

Saka The Saka ( Old Persian: ; Kharoṣṭhī: ; Ancient Egyptian: , ; , old , mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit ( Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples who histo ...

,Rupnath inscription and also explains he has been getting closer to the

Sangha Sangha is a Sanskrit word used in many Indian languages, including Pali meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community"; Sangha is often used as a surname across these languages. It was historically used in a political context t ...

and has become more ardent in the faith. ;Minor Rock Edict No.2 Only appears in a few places, in conjunction with Minor Edict No.1 ;Minor Rock Edict No.3 Only appears at

, where it was discovered in front of the Bairat Temple, possibly the oldest free-standing temple in India. The Edict is now located in the Museum of

The Asiatic Society The Asiatic Society is a government of India organisation founded during the Company rule in India to enhance and further the cause of "Oriental research", in this case, research into India and the surrounding regions. It was founded by the p ...

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commer ...

, and because of this is sometimes called the "Calcutta-Bairāṭ inscription". Also known as the Bhabru Edict. Ashoka claims "great is my reverence and faith in the

, the

(and) the Samgha", and makes a list of recommended Buddhist scriptures that Buddhist monks as well as the laity should repeatedly study.

Locations

The minor rock edicts of Ashoka are exclusively inscribed on rock. They are located throughout the Indian subcontinent. Edict N°1 appears alone in Panguraria, Maski, Palkigundu et Gavimath, Bahapur/Srinivaspuri, Bairat, Ahraura, Gujarra,

Sasaram Sasaram ()sometimes also spelled as Sahasram, is an ancient historical city and a municipal corporation region in the Rohtas district of the Bihar state in eastern India, with a history that goes to thousands of years. During the prehistoric ...

, Rajula Mandagiri, and in conjunction with Edict N°2 at Yerragudi, Udegolam,

Nittur Nittur is a village in Tumkur district of Karnataka, India. Nittur is famous for Jwalamalini Temple, an ancient Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through th ...

, Brahmagiri, Siddapur, Jatinga-Rameshwara.India: An Archaeological History: Palaeolithic Beginnings to Early Historic Foundations ... by Dilip K. Chakrabart
p.395
/ref> The traditional Minor Rock Edicts (excluding the miscellaneous inscriptions in

found in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and

) are located in central and southern India, whereas the Major Rock Edicts were located at the frontiers on Ashoka's territory.

Miscellaneous inscriptions often catalogued in the Minor Rock Edicts

Some Ashoka inscriptions in Greek or Aramaic, or the inscriptions of the

Barabar Caves The Barabar Hill Caves (Hindi बराबर, ''Barābar'') are the oldest surviving rock-cut caves in India, dating from the Maurya Empire (322–185 BCE), some with Ashokan inscriptions, located in the Makhdumpur region of Jehanabad distric ...

, are difficult to categorize, and are sometimes included in the "Minor Rock Edicts". This is sometimes also the case with the Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription (the designation of "Minor Rock Edict No.4" was proposed), although its nature is quite different from other edicts and it is the oldest of Ashoka's inscriptions (10th year of his reign).Inscriptions of Asoka by DC Sirca
p.33
/ref> The inscriptions in Aramaic, especially the

Aramaic Inscription of Laghman The Aramaic inscription of Laghman, also called the Laghman I inscription to differentiate from the Laghman II inscription discovered later, is an inscription on a slab of natural rock in the area of Laghmân, Afghanistan, written in Aramaic b ...

and the

Aramaic Inscription of Taxila The Aramaic Inscription of Taxila is an inscription on a piece of marble, originally belonging to an octagonal column, discovered by Sir John Marshall in 1915 at Taxila, British India. The inscription is written in Aramaic, probably by the Indian ...

are also often catalogued among the minor rock edicts, although their character of edict is not very clear, and if the first was inscribed on rock, the second was inscribed on an octagonal marble pillar. The inscriptions of the

are purely dedicatory, without moral content.

References